Bystrianska Cave is a limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

 located on the southern slopes of the Nizke Tatry Mountains, along the road towards Banska Bystrica, at the southern edge of the town of Bystrá

Bystrá, Brezno District

Bystrá is a village and municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia.-Famous people:*František Švantner, writer...

, in the Brezno District

Brezno District

Brezno District is a district inthe Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Until 1918, most of the present-day district belonged to the Zvolen county, apart from Polomka in the east which was part of the county of Gemer a Malohont....

, Banskobystrický region, in Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

. Discovered in 1926 by E. and A. Hollmann and J. Kovalčík, the cave is 2637 m in length and 95 m in depth. About 490 m of the cave has been made public in 1968.

Description

The cave consists primarily of dark limestone rocks formed in tectonic cracks by water corrosion and gradually enlarged by the underground river Bystra. The lower entrance to the cave was opened in 1932. The precipice Peklo, through which the access to a new cave was found, was discovered in 1926. The Old and New Cave were connected by J. Majko and J. Vytřísalová together with their colleagues in 1955. In 1951 the Mostárenské Halls were discovered.

The Bystrianska Cave is considered to be the most important cave of the Upper Hron River Valley

Hron

Hron is a 298 km long left tributary of the Danube and the second longest river in Slovakia. It flows from its source located in the Low Tatra mountains through central and southern Slovakia, pouring into the Danube near Štúrovo and Esztergom...

. The Lower Guerilla Hall and some other parts of the cave have been used for speleotherapy since 1971.

External links

• Bystrianska Cave at Slovak Caves Administration.